Yupitergrad – Page 2 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

February 19, 2021

The VR Game Launch Roundup: Dolls, Bows & Cosmonauts

It seems that recently, virtual reality (VR) titles have either been sporadically launching or simply dropping last minute, which has meant this is VRFocus‘ first roundup of upcoming videogames this month. As usual, here are five new VR experiences you may not want to miss.

A Wake Inn – VR Bros

First up is horror title A Wake Inn by Polish team VR Bros. Set in the creepy Silver Inn Hotel, you wake to find yourself in the body of a mechanical doll. Unable to walk you have to explore the hotel in a wheelchair, searching the rooms for clues and useful items whilst trying to avoid the very deadly residents – the dolls.

Supported platforms: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive & Valve Index
Launch date: 25th February

Hyper Dash – Triangle Factory

This frantic, team-based first-person shooter (FPS) offers ten players (5v5) to go head to head across a range of gameplay modes including Payload, Domination, Control Point and Deathmatch. Match parameters can be altered with mutators plus there’s an offline bot-mode if other players aren’t available or you just want to practice.

Supported platforms: Oculus Quest
Launch date: 25th February

Naau: The Lost Eye – Studio Gamebit

Originally due for release in 2020, Naau: The Lost Eye comes from Turkish indie team Studio Gamebit. Combining action, adventure, and puzzle gameplay mechanics, the Early Access title offers physics-based combat so players can use bows, crossbows, swords and other melee weapons. Or utilise magic when confronted by wizards, monsters and even dangerous flora and fauna.

Supported platforms: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive & Valve Index
Launch date: 25th February

Yupitergrad – Gamedust

The swinging puzzle title has hit every other headset and now it’s finally PlayStation VR’s turn. Set in a space station orbiting Jupiter, you have to save yourself and the complex by navigating its dangerous structure using a pair of grappling suction cups attached to each hand. Yupitergrad is one of those indie surprises of 2020.

Supported platforms: PlayStation VR
Launch date: 25th February

Pickup Basketball VR – Revog Games

Another PC VR Early Access title, Pick Basketball VR offers both single-player and multiplayer modes supporting up to four people. Test your skills in 1v1, 2v2, 3 Point Contest, HORSE, and Free Shoot across Gym, Street, Paris, and Skyrise Rooftop courts. Fully supporting sim-style mechanics you’ll be able to dribble and dunk or practice those layups, jump shots, blocks, passes, and rebounds.

Supported platforms: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive & Valve Index
Launch date: 26th February

February 16, 2021

VR Platformer Yupitergrad Swings Onto PSVR Next Week

Yupitergrad is a wacky VR platformer that has you swinging across bizarre space stations with plunger grappling hooks! Yes, it’s weird, but it works, and it’s coming to PSVR next week! Digital version hits February 25th and a physical disc version is out on March 12th.

For the most part, this is about as close as we’ve gotten to Spider-Man in VR yet. There may not be any webs to spin or swing from, but it nails the thrill of the moveset just fine still.

In Yupitergrad, instead of shooting webs you shoot plungers out of hand launchers that stick onto surfaces. From there, you can reel yourself in and swing with momentum through the air. Since this is in space, it’s no surprise that gravity isn’t as strong so you can get a lot of air as you fling through the lonely corridors of a Russian space station.

It’s a smooth and fun game that we gave a ‘Good’ rating in our review. The PSVR version should bring over the same wacky and high-flying fun as the PC and Quest version of the game, although we haven’t played it yet. Presumably it should be a good fit since the PS Move controllers functionally have all the inputs you’ll need.

It’s a short game, clocking in at just around 2 hours for a straight-through session, but there are Time Attack challenges to keep you coming back and plenty reason to replay levels after the fact as well.

Let us know if you plan on picking Yupitergrad up for PSVR when it drops down in the comments below!

February 16, 2021

Yupitergrad’s PlayStation VR Launch Date is Next Week

It wasn’t long ago that PlayStation VR’s lineup of new videogames was looking a little bare, with Hitman 3 the only notable exception. That’s beginning to turn around, today seeing Gamedust announce that its swinging sci-fi puzzle title Yupitergrad is just over a week away from launch.

Yupitergrad arrived last summer for PC VR headsets with the studio going onto confirm that Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR would get support. That happened in January for Quest while PlayStation VR will see both digital and physical copies made available. It’ll hit PlayStation Store on Thursday 25th February with the retail version available through Perp Games’ store on 13th March.

Just like the Oculus Quest launch, players will not only get 50-levels of death-defying madness to swing through, they’ll also be treated to the new Time Attack mode. This fast-paced section serves up 20 levels to speed through, providing brand new ones as well as reworked levels from the campaign.

Yupitergrad is set on a space station orbiting Jupiter and you just so happen to be the unlucky cosmonaut sent up there to conduct a fateful experiment. Once everything goes into disarray you pop on some unusual grappling gloves to navigate the station and get things working again. There’s just the teeny, tiny problem that this space station’s corridors and passageways are filled with spinning wheels of destruction, water, or just open out into the void of space.

In its review, VRFocus found Yupitergrad had its own unique brand of humour and gameplay: “What you see is what you get with Gamedust’s latest VR experience and that’s no bad thing. From the aesthetics to the locomotion, Yupitergrad is a nicely crafted VR game which was thrilling to play at points.”

PlayStation VR owners not only have Yupitergrad to look forward to, but there’s also Neon Hat, InnerspaceVR’s Maskmaker, Winds & Leaves from Trebuchet, Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife by Fast Travel Games, parkour title Stride, and 4v4 arena shooter Solaris Offworld Combat.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of the latest 2021 PlayStation VR releases.

January 28, 2021

Yupitergrad Review: Innovative VR Platforming That’s As Much Hard Work As It Is Fun

Does this Spider-Man-style VR swinging game take off? Find out in our Yupitergrad review.

Sometimes something can be a clear labor of love but, also, very much still a labor. Take Yupitergrad; it’s an innovative and deeply considered VR platformer with an absolutely brilliant central mechanic but, my god, is it hard work sometimes.

Yupitergrad’s elevator pitch is clean and simple: become Spider-Man in VR. Just, for the sake of not being sued, swap out New York City with a derelict Russian space station orbiting Jupiter and trade in your web shooters for a pair of, uh, arm-mounted projectile plungers that stick to surfaces and reel you in. The station is in dire need of repairs and you’re the only cosmonaut for the job, which means navigating spinning fans, searing furnaces and questionably-placed meat grinders as you master the art of swinging in VR.

Developer Gamedust — responsible for early VR treats like Neverout and Overflight — has put a lot of work into the traversal. Plungers stick to blue surfaces and pulling down hard will catapult you in their direction. Get enough momentum going and you can fly down corridors, effortlessly alternating between arms for a breezy thrill.

Yupitergrad is at its best when it lets all of these concepts breathe. Gaining speed to zip through levels, tackling corners at break-neck pace or simply propelling yourself over fire pits and gas clouds is a genuine rush, and the game largely obeys the laws of physics. Your actions often result in the intended movements and there aren’t any unfortunate and sudden bugs that could have a well-placed shot sending you tumbling to your demise. It also helps that it looks great, with cold, brutalist architecture contrasted by a vibrant cel-shaded color scheme.

Yupitergrad Review – The Facts

What is it?: A VR platforming game in which you swing through a space station using two arm-mounted grappling hooks
Platforms: PC VR, Oculus Quest (PSVR version coming soon)
Release Date: Out Now
Price: $14.99

But you can’t sustain a 2-ish hour campaign on empty corridors alone, as Yupitergrad knows well. Each area you’ll traverse is filled with unique obstacles, be it moving platforms that taxi you across gaps or even underwater assault courses navigated with compressed air to move you.

Maintaining momentum whilst providing an agile challenge is something the game can struggle with. Some of its levels are a real joy to tackle, like keeping up your pace as you scan the ceiling for grapple points on opening and closing doors. But, for all its refinement, Yupitergrad’s stringy movement is often unwieldy, as trying to zip through a series of corridors using two plungers tied to bits of string would be. But there’s a thin margin for error that doesn’t forgive as much as it should.

Trying to squeeze in between small gaps before you’re crushed by rolling spikes, or picking the right time to launch yourself past spinning fans is a finicky business that will have you replaying levels over and over. Even trying to edge closer to a challenge can result in wobbles that land you back at the most recent checkpoint. Load times are mercifully quick but I found myself increasingly infuriated with some of the game’s more precision-based trials. It never verges on completely unforgivable but is also consistently annoying enough to muddy the experience.

Yupitergrad Review – Comfort

Gamedust says Yupitergrad doesn’t give players nausea, but I highly doubt that will be the case for everyone. The game’s swinging mechanics really make you feel the forces work – I nearly fell over a fair few times when standing up to play. If you get sick quick in VR, I wouldn’t recommend this one.

With repetition also comes a fog of dizziness that stays with you long after you take the headset off. Sitting here after a 30-minute play session I can still feel the lurch of swinging back and forth as I dangle on a line and it’s not exactly a pleasant sensation, even if it is remarkable the game can give it to you. Yupitergrad is a game to play in short bursts – a series of sprints rather than something to marathon. That makes the brief run time something of a relief, though there are 20 new time trial levels added along with the release of the Quest version should you want more.

Yupitergrad Review Final Impressions

At its heart, Yupitergrad’s brand of VR vaulting offers a clean and thrilling sensation, but its obstacle courses can frustrate as much as they do entertain. It’s not a game to master so much as it is to survive as you subject yourself to the mercy of its gauntlet and the finicky arsenal that helps you navigate it. Take it short strides, keep your patience and there’s fun to be had with Yupitergrad. It just gets strung up by its own plungers from time-to-time.

For more on how we arrived at this score, see our review guidelines. What did you make of our Yupitergrad review? Let us know in the comments below!

January 23, 2021

Yupitergrad’s Quest Version Arrives Next Week

It’s been a few weeks without any proper game launches on Oculus Quest but that changes very soon. Yupitergrad’s Quest version arrives on January 28th.

Developer Gamedust promised the standalone version of its VR swinging game would arrive early in 2021 and this certainly fits the bill. The Quest version of the game will launch with 90Hz support on Quest 2. There’s also a new Time Attack mode to tackle, which will be arriving in the PC VR edition later in Q1 of this year. It includes 20 levels for players to test their skills against.

Not only that but Gamedust says its tweaked the game’s mechanics to make swinging even smoother in the new edition. The game’s Quest store page is up now.

Yupitergrad is essentially the closest we’ll be getting to a Spider-Man VR game in the near future (save for, y’know, the actual Spider-Man VR game). The game casts players as a Russian cosmonaut that travels to a far off space station. There, they’ll be put to the test by swinging through a series of rooms using two plungers fitted to their hands. It’s essentially a VR platformer, getting you to duck and dive past obstacles. We played the Quest version a few weeks back and thought it was shaping up pretty well.

As for the also-promised PSVR version? The game’s still coming in early 2021, but won’t be launching day-and-date with Quest.

It’s a busy week for Quest owners overall – the long-anticipated port of Free Lives Gorn also arrives on January 28th and it’s a pretty great version of it. Will you be checking out Yupitergrad on Quest next week? Let us know in the comments below.

January 22, 2021

The VR Game Launch Roundup: Dinos, Gladiators & Swinging Russians

As the last week of January 2021 draws near – it’s already been an eventful month! – what virtual reality (VR) videogames are there to look forward to? As VRFocus likes to do most Fridays, here are five upcoming titles which caught our eye.

Dino Eruption – MULTIVERSUM

It’s all about survival in this Early Access release from solo developer Multiversum. Dropped into a world full of hungry dinosaurs, Dino Eruption is a single-player adventure where you can run around killing every creature or hide, all the levels are procedurally generated so it’s never the same twice.

Supported platforms: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index & Windows Mixed Reality
Launch date: 23rd January

Ryte: The Eye of Atlantis – Orichalcum Pictures

Mixing both myth and archaeological history from ancient Greece and Egyptian civilizations, Ryte: The Eye of Atlantis takes players to the fabled city. As an Atlantean you have to save the civilisation from catastrophe, wielding supernatural powers to solve puzzles whilst collaborating with clerics and other characters.

Supported platforms: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive & Valve Index
Launch date: 27th January

Gorn – Free Lives

Gladiator combat taken to the extreme, Gorn has hit every other VR headset and soon it’s Oculus Quest’s turn. Step inside a classic arena to vanquish wave after wave of muscle bound fighters. You can utilise weapons, fists or the environment to win, basically anything goes when it comes to success. Brutal with plenty of blood, broken bones and a lot of carnage.

Supported platforms: Oculus Quest
Launch date: 28th January

Yupitergrad – Gamedust

An environmental puzzler set onboard a space station orbiting Jupiter, Yupitergrad is all about using grappling plungers to try and escape. Cue rooms full of spinning wheels of death, hallways which open up to the planet below and plenty of other ways to kill you. The only way to get through is by swinging like a trapeze artist.

Supported platforms: Oculus Quest
Launch date: 28th January

Outlaws of the Marsh VR – HXVR Studio

Set in China 900 years ago Outlaws of the Marsh VR is an action title where you can engage in hand-to-hand combat or use traditional long sticks, crossbows and more. It’s an Early Access title which doesn’t support English.

Supported platforms: HTC Vive
Launch date: 28th January

January 22, 2021

Yupitergrad Latches Onto Oculus Quest Next Week

Gamedust’s swinging puzzle title Yupitergrad arrived for PC VR headsets last summer, with the studio revealing not long after launch that further headset support was on the way. Today, the team has announced that the Oculus Quest version will be released next week.

The upcoming launch will have a couple of bonuses for Oculus Quest. Firstly, Yupitergrad will support Oculus Quest 2’s 90Hz mode so all that swinging around is nice and smooth. Secondly, it’ll be the first time the new Time Attack mode will be playable, with other versions getting a free patch update in Q1 2021. Time Attack will have 20 levels to speed through, with both brand new ones and reworked levels from the campaign available. As with most Time Attack modes, it’ll include global leaderboards for players to compare stats.

Yupitergrad is set entirely on a space station orbiting Jupiter, as a cosmonaut you’ve been sent up there to conduct a dangerous experiment. However, it all goes awry so you have to navigate the sprawling station to put things right. The only way to get about is by using grappling plungers on each arm.

The plungers only attach to blue areas of the station, so exploration requires careful timing and precision to swing through the expansive halls and rooms. You also need to watch out for various environmental traps which can instantly kill.

Enjoying Yupitergrad’s unique brand of humour and gameplay, VRFocus said in its review: “What you see is what you get with Gamedust’s latest VR experience and that’s no bad thing. From the aesthetics to the locomotion, Yupitergrad is a nicely crafted VR game which was thrilling to play at points.”

Gamedust will be releasing Yupitergrad for Oculus Quest next Thursday 28th January. That puts it in direct competition with the long-awaited Gorn so it all depends on whether you want to be a Slavic Spider-Man or a brutal gladiator. For further updates to Yupitergrad, keep reading VRFocus.

December 24, 2020

Hands-on: Yupitergrad’s Spider-Man-Style VR Swinging Is At Home On Quest

Yupitergrad was definitely one of those games that was made with Quest in mind. Not only is the vibrant cel-shaded art style well-suited to the platform’s reduced processing power, but the Spider-Man-esque VR swinging also works dramatically better when there’s not a wire on the floor threatening to tangle you up at every turn.

It’s no surprise to find that, even in preview form, this is the best way to play Gamedust’s latest, then.

Yupitergrad came to Steam back in August and will land on Oculus Quest and PSVR in early 2021. It’s a demanding VR platformer that attaches two plungers to your hands and has you swinging through the rooms of a Communist-era Russian space station. Corridors filled with traps and trickery that made navigating the station something of an Olympic hurdle. Check out some Oculus Quest gameplay.

Yupitergrad Quest Gameplay

So far I’m enjoying Yupitergrad most in its calmer moments. The swinging mechanic feels like a logical step above the foundations laid by Psytec Games’ Windlands and its ilk. Vaulting across a corridor, allowing time for the full arc of the rope to carry through is a dizzy treat.

It’s when things get a bit more fidgety that you start to feel the strain of those systems. Precise tasks like pulling gates open and then swinging through them before they close once more can be tiresome if not approached in exactly the right way. But it’s also true that Yupitergrad feels more and more natural the further you get into it, and I’ll be curious to see if I can master those challenges by the game’s end. I certainly hope that’s the case, as the new version of the game will also be bringing with it a Time Trial mode to get to grips with.

We don’t have a final date for Yupitergrad’s Quest and PSVR launch yet, but this preview build felt pretty darn close to ready. We’ll let you know when we have a final date. Will you be checking out Yupitergrad on its new platforms? Let us know in the comments below.

December 16, 2020

Swinging Puzzler Yupitergrad Physical Edition Confirmed for PlayStation VR

Back in October VRFocus reported on Gamedust’s Yupitergrad would be getting Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR editions. A update on those details sees PlayStation VR owners also inline for a physical version thanks to Perp Games.

Perp has a long history of PlayStation VR launches for those players who like to collect their videogames in disk format, with both digital and physical versions arriving at the same time, early 2021. The Oculus Quest version will also arrive at the same time.

“We are extremely happy to partner with Perp Games on delivering Yupitergrad to the market,” said Jakub Matuszczak, COO at Gamedust in a statement. “As “old-school” gamers – we have a very special place in our hearts for physical editions and we are thrilled that Yupitergrad will be the part of the Perp Games boxed games line up.”

“Yupitergrad has a charm of its own and plenty of humour to keep you amused as you travel at great speed through a deserted space station, adds Rob Edwards, Managing Director of Perp Games. “Yupitergrad is the perfect game to start 2021 and Perp Games is delighted to be bringing Yupitergrad to retailers early next year.”

That launch window won’t purely be about new platform support. Gamedust has been working on a Time Attack mode where players can really put those swinging skills to the test. The mode will feature revamped levels and new music to keep them energised. It’ll arrive supporting all platforms next year.

In its review of Yupitergrad VRFocus said: “What you see is what you get with Gamedust’s latest VR experience and that’s no bad thing. From the aesthetics to the locomotion, Yupitergrad is a nicely crafted VR game which was thrilling to play at points.”

For further updates on Yupitergrad including the exact launch date for the new platforms, keep reading VRFocus.

October 27, 2020

Yupitergrad Adding PlayStation VR & Oculus Quest Support Jan 2021

One of the surprising puzzle titles of 2020 has to be Gamedust’s swinging adventure Yupitergrad which released for PC VR headsets in August. This week the studio has revealed new updates are on the way as well as expanding support to more platforms.

The big news is that PlayStation VR and Oculus Quest will see ports of the videogame, with a launch currently slated for the end of January 2021. Both versions will get all the updates Gamedust is about to (or has already) released for Yupitergrad.

Since the launch a couple of months ago the studio has added Valve Index support and rolled out a Custom Controls update. This allows players to tinker with settings such as smooth rotation, turning off rotation altogether and calibrating the grappling hooks’ Y and X-axis.

As for new content, the next update will see a Time Attack mode added. Providing a new playlist of arcade levels which have either been revamped from the campaign or designed from the scratch, the mode will include new energetic music tracks and a leaderboard to compare scores.

Trying to escape a space station orbiting Jupiter, the only way you can is by using the grappling hooks attached to each hand to navigate the treacherous passageways. Swing through a labyrinth of vents and piping, all containing water, gas, whirling rollers of death and other obstacles.

VRFocus enjoyed Yupitergrad’s brand of humour and gameplay, saying in its review: “What you see is what you get with Gamedust’s latest VR experience and that’s no bad thing. From the aesthetics to the locomotion, Yupitergrad is a nicely crafted VR game which was thrilling to play at points.”

For the moment you can find Yupitergrad on Viveport, Oculus Store, and Steam, with a Vive Focus Plus version also available in China. For further updates on the PlayStation VR and Oculus Quest versions, keep reading VRFocus.